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Statement of USPTO Director Following Final Senate Passage of Leahy-Smith America Invents Act

11-Sep-2011|Source : AG-IP News|Visits : 3405

WASHINGTON - “I want to congratulate the United States Senate for passing the Leahy-Smith America Invents Act (H.R. 1249) today [September 8, 2011], and again thank Senate and House Judiciary Chairmen Leahy and Smith, as well as House and Senate leadership and many other Members of Congress for their unwavering commitment to this critical job-creating legislation.

“Once signed into law by President Obama, this bill will give the United States Patent and Trademark Office the tools it needs to deliver cutting-edge technologies to the marketplace sooner, drive down the backlog of patent applications, and expedite the issuance of high-quality patents—all without adding a dime to the deficit.

“Significantly, as stated by leadership in both houses of Congress, this legislation enables us to access all of our fees. We intend to aggressively implement that mandate by immediately hiring new examiners, instituting new patent acceleration tools, and aggressively modernizing our IT infrastructure.

“The effort to reform our nation’s patent system began more than a decade ago, and Senate passage today provides a substantial down payment on an American economic agenda aggressively committed to unleashing 21st century innovation. This bipartisan bill will modernize our intellectual property system, ensure the United States Patent and Trademark Office is sufficiently resourced to operate efficiently, and afford inventors the timely and consistent patent protections they need to spur business growth and hiring.

“We appreciate the strong support of the legislation's co-sponsors, as well as the continuing commitment of all Members of Congress and our stakeholders, to ensure that the USPTO retains the funding it needs to implement this legislation, perform its core mission, and fuel American ingenuity. I’d also like to thank the Commerce Department leadership, which has offered continued support under former Commerce Secretary Gary Locke and now Acting Secretary Rebecca Blank.
We look forward to the President signing the America Invents Act so the nation can unlock new technologies, new jobs and new industries.”